Maximus Impact VII Won't Post... Please help me.

[Opprobrious]

Build:
Motherboard: Maximus Impact VII
CPU: Intel I7 4790K
RAM: GSkill (F3-2400C10D-16GTX)
Video Card: AMD R9 290X Lightning
PSU: Silverstone SFX 600-G
Storage: Crucial M550 512GB SATA M.2, (2) Samsung 850 Pro 256GB, Western Digital 2 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB
Case: NCaseM1 2.0
Cooling: Custom Loop: EK Blocks and Radiator, Bits Power Fittings

So I just got done prepping my loop and bleeding it (pump powered only). Plugged everything in, and BEHOLD; NOTHING!!! There are no error LEDs lit on the board indicating faulty hardware, and the QCode reads 00. Reseated the RAM and still nothing. Thought about the fact that there were absolutely no LEDs on the board lighting other than the Start button, so I decided to remove the RAM entirely. Booted the system hoping to trip an error code of some sort and still nothing; the exact behavior as if I had the RAM installed. I'm at a complete loss here. I read about the QCode 00 can sometimes mean a problem w/ the CPU, but the motherboard is behaving as if it has it's own issues.

I am going to probably go to the place I bought the CPU and have them bench it to make sure it is functioning, in which case I'll know it is probably an issue w/ the motherboard.

Something else I have noticed when powering the computer on. I have my 4-pin PWM corsair radiator fans attached to the motherboard via the impact coolhub and they will not spin up. Just for kicks I attached one of the fans to the 4-pin cpu prong. It BARELY spun.

I have tried just booting on the motherboard w/ CPU only (no video card power) and there is no change in behavior. My HDD spins up, and my pump turns on, but there is no POST. In addition, I noticed when I was plugging the power into my video card, (2, 8-pin, and 1, 6-pin) 1 connector at a time, there are LEDs on the video card that indicate adequate power; 1 8-pin connector (LEDs RED; not enough juice), 2, 8-pin connectors (LEDs Blue; normal operation), 2, 8-pin and 1, 6-pin (LEDs Blue and Amber; OC mode unlocked). The video card seems to be getting enough power so I'm skeptical if the PSU is faulty however, I'm uncertain.

PS: Where the hell is the MEMOK button on this board? The impact vi it is located on the rear near the QCODE LCD however, the vii is a different story... (Originally I thought this may be my problem because of a RAM issue, but the system behaves exactly the same with or without the ram...

Please help me troubleshoot this no POST issue. Thank you in advance!!!

TLDR: QCode reads 00; there is no post, and there are absolutely no error LEDs lit on the motherboard; only thing that is lit is the start button. PLEASE HALP!!

[Nate152]

Puffnstuff could be on to something, I just looked up the r9 290x and it calls for a minimum of a 750 watt psu.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150700&cm_re=r9_290x-_-14-150-700-_-Product

While you have your board out for rma, you should really consider upgrading your psu.

[Opprobrious]

also looked up the r9 290x lightning; according to guru3d, "AMD R9-290X - On your average system the card requires you to have a 550~600 Watt power supply unit." minus 3 gpu fans, add 2 radiator fans and 1 pump, plus the i7 4790k cpu, it's going to be close w/ a 600 watter. I7 4790 + 16 gb of 2400 ram may not be so "average".

Again thank you so much for posting up guys. TY for your insight puffnstuff.

[Opprobrious]

Although you guys could be right, I tested the PSU by unhooking everything except for the motherboard plugs. Still not getting anything. Either I juiced the PSU or motherboard by drawing too much power. I tried tripping the PSU on with a paperclip and everything turns on (minus the motherboard obviously) I do believe you may be correct though as far as the PSU goes. I'm going to see if I can get creative and stick an 800watter inside. Problem is now something is definitely dead. Prob the mobo or the PSU is now faulty due to the draw.

Thank you for your posts, they're truly helpful. I read that someone was running an r9 280 on a 450, I thought I would be fine with an r9 290x on a 600 watter. Def going to upgrade my psu.

Will keep this thread updated.

Thanks again guys.
I feel like such a nooblet. LOL

[Opprobrious]

Okay so I've looked up my PSU again just to confirm that everything I did was "in spec".
I own a Silvetstone SST-SX600-G; my psu: i7 4790k and gpu: r9 290x are both on the supported lists released by the manufacturer...

http://www.silverstonetek.com/downloads/PSU/GPU-supportlist.pdf
http://www.silverstonetek.com/downloads/PSU/Haswell_CPU_support.pdf

I am faced with a dilemma; since my case requires the sfx spec psu, I'm not sure what other options I have other than wait for a more powerful sfx psu to be released, change my case to a slightly larger one, or roll the dice again and hope the motherboard just took a ****.

Decisions decisions...

[Nate152]

The bitfenix prodigy can house psu's up to 160mm. The Silverstone strider psu's are 150mm. Here is an 850 watt and they go up to 1500 watt.

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-ATX12V-EPS12V-Silver-ST85F-P/dp/B00307RLZW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=...

[Nate152]

Your case supports psu's up to 160mm long. The Silverstone strider psu's are 150mm long and range from 350w up to 1500w. Here is an 850w.

I'm not sure about width and height.

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-ATX12V-EPS12V-Silver-ST85F-P/dp/B00307RLZW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=...

[Nate152]

I did a little research and your case supports SFX and ATX psu's up to 160mm long. The Silverstone strider psu's are 150mm long and range from 550w up to 1500w. You could go with a 1000w if you wanted.

Here is an 850w with a single 12v rail.

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-Strider-Modular-ST85F-GS/dp/B00FYIFRVU

Since you are liquid cooling, you will have to remove the dual HDD cage to use an ATX psu and use the extended mounting bracket that came with your case.

[Opprobrious]

Because I have a dual radiator, i need an sfx to clear the fittings.

Not mine, but the same configuration as far as placement of things:
http://i.imgur.com/7gASHie.jpg

If I were to go atx, I would have to get a different radiator, and I would be running temps with a single.

Hmmm....

[Nate152]

You could do it but I overlooked one thing, your gpu has to be under 195mm long and your 290x is longer than that.

Soooo... yeah you have a dilemma.

Here is the article I was reading, scroll down to where it says " a multitude of possibilities".

https://www.ncases.com/

[Opprobrious]

Nate152 wrote:
You could do it but I overlooked one thing, your gpu has to be under 195mm long and your 290x is longer than that.

Soooo... yeah you have a dilemma.

Here is the article I was reading, scroll down to where it says " a multitude of possibilities".

https://www.ncases.com/

The r290x fits in length; it cannot even be 2 mm longer, it's snug but fits like a glove w/o stressing the pcie slot; the r9 290x is 195mm and the ek block is flush in length. Width is another story; the width is a little over what it needs to be because the EK block so I keep one side off, which is fine imo. Since it is such a small case, and I'm cramming all sorts of stuff in there, it probably helps a lot w/ ventilation. Plus you get to see how secksi the block is and my wire routing as it approaches porn levels.

"a multitude of possibilities" would be correct if I wasn't going dual radiator. I didn't think I'd have an issue w/ power since according to silverstone, both the cpu and gpu are "compatible"; I wonder if I assumed that the compatibility was still sound even when they're adjacent to each other... 😕

Either way, the more I'm reading, the more I see a 600w gold should be fine w/ a 290x; I haven't over clocked it either. Looking at peak draws for CPU and GPU are within the spectrum of what a 600w should be able to provide. Don't get me wrong it is a little close, but I just don't know for certain until two things happen.

1) Same configuration fails the same way w/ rma mobo
2) More powerful psu on same configuration does not fail

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/171358-psu-for-msi-radeon-r9-290x-lightning/

Long story short, I'm going to try the same configuration again and stress test it.

Will keep you guys linked in. Thanks again for your replies! It really keeps me motivated to get it up and working and get to the bottom of things.